First, when you lie down, blood vessels that run through your head and your neck can become compressed, which temporarily restricts blood flow, causing headaches. Increased blood pressure on arteries from lying down can increase headache pain.
Headaches. For some people prone to headaches, sleeping longer than usual on a weekend or vacation can cause head pain. Researchers believe this is due to the effect oversleeping has on certain neurotransmitters in the brain, including serotonin.
Many people find that sleep helps to ease their symptoms if they're having a migraine attack. Even sleeping for just an hour or two can be beneficial. Sleep also appears to be particularly good at helping children recover from a migraine attack.
If you suffer from headaches, make sure you sleep on your back or side, which is ideal for spine alignment. Also, curling up in a ball in the fetal position may feel instinctive, but it pulls your shoulders forward, which can create a lot of stress in your neck.
Most positional headaches develop while a person is sitting or standing upright. This is because a lot of circulating CSF surrounds the spinal cord, and when someone with reduced CSF levels is standing or sitting, their CSF levels reduce even further. This increases the risk of positional headache.
A low-pressure headache often gets worse when you stand or sit. It can get better if you lie down. It can start at the back of the head, sometimes with neck pain, though it can be felt all over your head.
Positional or Precipitated by Valsalva
If the headache changes in intensity in different positions, like standing to lying, or is triggered by the Valsalva maneuver, such as coughing or straining, it can be concerning. These signs could point to a pressure issue or a problem related to some type of mass.
Cervicogenic Headache. Frequently worse at night, cervicogenic headache wakes the individual with neck pain radiating to the occiput and anteriorly to the forehead and is caused by mechanical neck position during sleep. A comfortable, supportive pillow is helpful.
Pressure point LI-4 is also called Hegu (her-goo). It is found on the back of your hand. It is between the base of your thumb and index (pointer) finger (see Figure 1). Doing acupressure on this point can help with pain and headaches.
Sleep in migraine
Excessive sleepiness may be part of the premonitory phase before a migraine attack, or a symptom following the attack. Sleep can also be very helpful during a migraine attack, and may often help stop the attack, particularly in children.
Headaches cause pain in the head, face, or upper neck, and can vary in frequency and intensity. A migraine is an extremely painful primary headache disorder. Migraines usually produce symptoms that are more intense and debilitating than headaches. Some types of migraines do not cause head pain, however.
Use a heating pad set on low, a hot water bottle, a hot shower or bath, a warm compress, or a hot towel. Or apply ice or a cool washcloth to the forehead. Massage also can relieve muscle tension — and sometimes headache pain.
For the best seated posture, sit with your head and neck upright in a neutral position. Rest your feet flat on the floor (or supported by foot rest) and avoid sitting on your feet or crossing your legs. Keep your arms and elbows close to your body, use an arm rest for support and keep your wrists in a neutral position.
Lying in a flat position can help to keep more CSF in place surrounding the spinal cord, which is why it eases the pain. Additionally, the change in pressure caused by a CSF leak impacts the position of the brain, making the brain more likely to come into contact with sensitive parts of the head and spine.
A number of sleep or health disorders, as well as personal habits, can trigger a headache when you wake up. Sleep apnea, migraine, and lack of sleep are common culprits. However, teeth grinding, alcohol use, and certain medications can also cause you to wake up with a headache.
Tension headaches
They feel like a constant ache that affects both sides of the head, as though a tight band is stretched around it. Normally, tension headaches are not severe enough to prevent you doing everyday activities. They usually last for 30 minutes to several hours, but can last for several days.
The symptoms of a cluster headache include stabbing severe pain behind or above one eye or in the temple. Tearing of the eye, congestion in the associated nostril, and pupil changes and eyelid drooping may also occur.
See your provider soon if: Your headaches wake you up from sleep, or your headaches make it difficult for you to fall asleep. A headache lasts more than a few days. Headaches are worse in the morning.
See a GP if:
your headache keeps coming back. painkillers do not help and your headache gets worse. you have a bad throbbing pain at the front or side of your head – it could be a migraine or, more rarely, a cluster headache. you feel sick, vomit and find light or noise painful.
A persistent headache can result from an injury or a structural problem in the spine, such as arthritis. It can also affect people who have migraine or have had a stroke. The overuse of pain relief drugs can also cause an ongoing headache. Headaches are common neurological conditions.
Summary. SNOOP is a mnemonic for assessing headache warning signs and knowing when to call a healthcare provider immediately or seek emergency care. It stands for systemic symptoms, neurological signs, onset, older age at onset, and prior medical history.
In 2003, the mnemonic SNOOP (systemic symptoms/signs and disease, neurologic symptoms or signs, onset sudden or onset after the age of 40 years, and change of headache pattern) was proposed as a red flag detection tool for secondary headaches.
Children aged under 12 years who present with headache may also have one or more 'red flag' symptoms. These children need to be seen by a specialist service within a few hours, or even more quickly if necessary, to diagnose or rule out significant intracranial pathology such as a brain tumour.
3 Other studies have noted that sleep is a common migraine relief tactic for some — in fact, in a study of 75 migraineurs, nearly 90 percent reported trying to sleep as a way of relieving their migraine pain.